The 11th Annual McDonald Centre Conference will gather both theologians and philosophers for conversation with medical professionals and health care experts, including gerontologists, geriatricians, and palliative care specialists, such that the gravity of old age, including experiences of suffering and despair, can be foregrounded. Although ageing, suffering, and despair offer the thematic contours for the conference, further thinking about essential virtues for overcoming despair and the meaning or practices of hope will be considered such that health and care might be resourced, while public policies, educative experiences, and professional practices might be re-examined.